Influenza vaccine for preventing acute otitis media (middle ear infection)
Acute otitis media is a common infection in children, with research showing that up to four in every five children in high-income countries will have at least one episode by the age of three years. Influenza vaccines have been suggested as a way to prevent this, and an updated Cochrane Review from October 2017 looks at the latest evidence. The lead review author, Norhayati, from the Universiti Sains Malaysia in Kubang Kerian, Malaysia, tells us more in this podcast. This podcast is also available in Croatian and Russian.
Strategies to help doctors change the way they prescribe antibiotics for patients with acute respiratory infections
As the number of Cochrane and other systematic reviews increases, we are seeing a rising need for overviews that bring together the findings from multiple reviews. In September 2017, the Cochrane Acute Respiratory Infections Group did this for eight systematic reviews of ways to influence prescribing behaviour. Chris Del Mar, from the Cochrane ARI group, tells us more in this podcast. This podcast is also available in Croatian, Chinese and Russian.
Antibiotics for acute bronchitis
Acute bronchitis is one of the commonest respiratory tract infections seen by general or family practitioners, with several reviews now available in the Cochrane Library and one of these, of the effects of antibiotics, was updated in June 2017. We asked the lead author, Susan Smith, a GP from Dublin, Ireland, based at the Department of General Practice in the RCSI Medical School, to tell us what they found in this podcast. This podcast is also available in Russian, Chinese and Croatian.
Glue ear, which is fluid in the middle ear space, is one of the most common conditions of early childhood. Glue ear can cause hearing difficulties which in turn can affect children's behaviour, language and progress at school. About a third of children with glue ear have bacterial infections, and antibiotics may be beneficial. Roderick Venekamp, from the University Medical Center in Utrecht, Netherlands describes findings from a Cochrane review published in June 2016 in this podcast.
Biomarkers as point-of-care tests to guide prescription of antibiotics in patients with acute respiratory infections in primary care
Antibiotic resistance is a rising concern for many health systems and one solution would be to find ways to identify which of the patients who present to primary care with respiratory tract infections don’t need antibiotics. Rune Aabenhus from the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, describes a Cochrane Review from November 2014, which looks at the possible role of point-of-care biomarkers in this podcast.
Combined DTP-HBV-HIB vaccine versus separately administered DTP-HBV and HIB vaccines for primary prevention of diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, hepatitis B and Haemophilus influenzae B (HIB)
Cochrane reviews look at the prevention, as well as the treatment of disease. Edna Bar-On from the Rabin Medical Center in Israel discusses the findings of her review of some routine, childhood immunisations in this podcast.
Echinacea for preventing and treating the common cold
Many interventions have been suggested as treatments for the common cold, or as ways to prevent it. Echinacea is among these and Marlies Karsch-Völk from the Technical University Munich in Germany describes the February 2014 Cochrane Review of the evidence in this podcast.
Influenza vaccines for preventing acute otitis media in infants and children
Many children suffer from the ear infection, acute otitis media, and a March 2015 Cochrane Review looks at the evidence on whether the influenza vaccine might prevent it. The lead author, Norhayati Mohd Noor from Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kelantan, Malaysia describes their findings in this podcast.
Interventions to facilitate shared decision making to address antibiotic use for acute respiratory infections in primary care
Shared decision making happens when health decisions are made together by a clinician and a patient, and there are a variety of ways to facilitate it in different circumstances. Tammy Hoffmann and Peter Coxeter from Bond University in Queensland Australia tell us about the research that they and colleagues brought together in a new Cochrane Review in November 2015 about antibiotic use for acute respiratory infections in primary care in this podcast.
Over-the-counter (OTC) medications for acute cough in children and adults in community settings
Acute cough is a common reason for people to use over the counter medicines but do these medicines work? Susan Smith from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, describes the November 2014 update of her Cochrane Review, outlining the latest evidence on the effects of these widely used remedies in this podcast.
Procalcitonin to initiate or discontinue antibiotics in acute respiratory tract infections
Antibiotic resistance is an issue that all healthcare professionals have to deal with. A Cochrane Review, published in the September 2014 issue of the Cochrane Library, evaluates the role of procalcitonin in guiding decisions about treating respiratory infections with antibiotics in this podcast.
Vaccines for preventing herpes zoster (shingles) in older adults
In March 2016 a team of researchers in Brazil published an updated Cochrane review looking at the effects of vaccines for herpes soster. Anna Gagliardi with her co-authors Brenda Gomes Silva and Maria Regina Torloni, from the Department of Geriatrics and Gerontology at the Federal University of São Paulo in Brazil describe their findings in this podcast. This podcast also available in Chinese and Croatian.
Xylitol sugar supplement for preventing middle ear infection in children up to 12 years of age
The ear infection, acute otitis media, brings many children into contact with healthcare practitioners and finding ways to prevent it would have obvious benefits for the children, their families and the healthcare system. In August 2016, a group of researchers from Canada, led by Amir Azarpazhooh from the University of Toronto updated their Cochrane Review and he tells us what they found in this podcast.
Other podcasts are available on Cochrane.org/podcasts.